New Insights into Polychaete Traces and Fecal Pellets: Another Complex Ichnotaxon?

PLoS One. 2015 Oct 6;10(10):e0139933. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139933. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Neoichnological observations help refine paleoichnological records. The present study reports extensive observations on the distribution, morphology, occurrence and association of burrows and fecal pellets of the polychaete Nereis diversicolor in the Kundalika Estuary on the west coast of India. Our holistic study of these modern-day traces suggests it to be a complex trace arising from domichnial, fodinichnial and possibly pascichnial behavior of polychaetes. The study for the first time reports extensive fecal pellet production, distribution and their preservation as thick stacks in modern estuarine environment. These observations testify the fossilization potential of pellets and provide an explanation to their origin in the geological record. Their occurrence as strings associated with mounds not only suggests pascichnial behaviour of polychaetes but also allows the assignment of post-Paleozoic Tomaculum to the activity of polychaete worms. The production of fecal pellets in such large quantities plays a major role in increasing the average grain size of the substrate of these estuarine tidal flats, thereby improving aeration within the substrate.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Estuaries
  • Feces*
  • Geologic Sediments*
  • India
  • Polychaeta / classification*

Grants and funding

Field visits and project implementation costs were funded to KGK by the Agharkar Research Institute Fellowship. Initial funding for pilot studies and sedimentological analysis was awarded to RP by the Department of Science and Technology SERC (WOS-A Scheme), Ministry of Science and Technology, New Delhi, India vide sanction No. 100/(IFD)/6854/2011-2012.